Staying Here
by Sa-chan14
Summary: In one night, Chizuru gets two nightmares about her father and brother. She is continuously afraid that they will get her. Which is impossible, because they are dead. But it seems like her dreams are somehow connected to what a survivor of the Yukimura-clan wants.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was past the middle of the night and all the men were sleeping, except for one. As he was walking, his raven black hair floated behind him. He gazed up to the dark clear sky, the beautiful stars and the full moon. Unconsciously he walked into the direction of Chizuru's room. He wasn't looking in front of him, so he didn't see a person standing on the porch. The person heard footsteps coming her way, thus she turned her head to look who was walking towards her. "Hijikata-san …" His name escaped her mouth before she could even think about it. Hijikata stopped walking and looked at her.

"Chizuru, what are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep," she said and looked in front of her again.

"I have the same problem." Hijikata walked towards Chizuru and stood still next to her, looking up at the stars.

"Why?" Chizuru asked.

"All the paperwork and stress disturbed my sleeping rhythm."

Chizuru nodded understandable. "My father had sometimes the same problem."

Hijikata glanced at Chizuru. He saw that she was griping the railing with both hands and that she was trembling a little.

"And why can't you sleep?"

Chizuru didn't answer directly. But Hijikata wasn't going to ask again. He knew that she was searching for courage to tell him, so he waited patiently. After a few minutes Chizuru moved her hands closer to each other. "I … had a nightmare," she started. "About my father and brother. They came to the HQ and asked me to come with them to a safer place for me. I refused. But they tried to forced me and threatened me … and then I woke up."

Hijikata didn't expect that to be her nightmare, because they weren't alive any more. "Chizuru, are you afraid that they will really come?"

"… I don't know."

Hijikata was surprised by her answer, she knew that they were dead. "What do you mean?"

"I have a feeling that they will really come, even though they aren't here anymore." She was scared. Hijikata saw that and wanted to ensure her that she would be safe here and that everyone in the Shinsengumi would protect her. "You don't need to be afraid, we will protect you with our lives."

She looked up to him. She knew that it was true what he said, but still … the feeling that she had was too overwhelming. What Hijikata saw in her eyes was something he had never seen before: his ensuring words didn't help her. He didn't know what to do, he was lost for words.

"Hijikata-san," she whispered after a while. "I don't want to be alone."

"You're not alone."

"I mean … tonight …"

It took a few seconds for Hijikata to realize what she meant. He wanted to help her and if this was what she wanted then he would sleep together with her. "Okay, shall we go then?" Hijikata took a step back.

Chizuru nodded and turned around. "Do I need to take something with me?"

"No, I think it would only be a nuisance with bringing it with us and bringing it back."

Chizuru nodded again. They walked away. Chizuru closely behind Hijikata. A minute later they arrived at his room and went inside.

"You can leave the door open, so we have some light in here."

Chizuru waited next to the door while Hijikata searched for something in the closet.

"What are you searching for?" Chizuru asked as Hijikata still hadn't found it.

"Ah." Hijikata stood up and turned around to face her. "I was searching for a futon, pillow and blanket, but now I remember that Souji spilled tea and food on the futon and blanket, so I only have an extra pillow … Do you mind to share?"

Chizuru slightly shook her head.

"I can also sleep on the floor, if you're too nervous or scared to share," Hijikata offered.

"No, I don't mind," Chizuru said with a trembling voice.

"Are you afraid or cold?" Hijikata asked worriedly.

"Both." Chizuru looked at her feet. She was a little bit scared of sleeping so close to him, but she knew that he wouldn't do anything to her. And she didn't want to be alone.

"Come." Hijikata walked over to her. "You can lie down first."

Chizuru walked towards the futon and sat down.

Hijikata closed the door and lied down next to her. "Lie down, Chizuru, they really won't come." Chizuru obeyed. With Hijikata next to her it was easier to fall asleep. Hijikata, on the other hand, couldn't sleep anymore. He was thinking about how to convince her that she was safe here.

Two hours passed and Hijikata was still awake. Chizuru had turned on her side and faced him. She looked so peacefully. But then she started to tremble again. Hijikata thought that she had it cold, so he wanted to pull the blanket further over her. But as he reached out, something caused Chizuru to scream and sit up. Hijikata pulled his hand back and looked surprised at her. She was breathing heavily and her eyes were wide open.

"Chizuru …" Hijikata said as he sat up.

Chizuru turned around slowly and looked at him.

Hijikata saw how scared she was. He now knew that talking to her didn't help, so he tried something different. He spread his arms and said: "Come, Chizuru."

Chizuru shoved towards him and hugged him. Hijikata adjusted their position so she would sit between his legs. "It's okay, I'm here. No one will get a chance to hurt you." He felt his clothes getting wet, but he didn't care. They stayed like that for several minutes. When she stopped crying he pulled back and looked at her. She still looked beautiful, even with red eyes and wet cheeks. He dried her cheeks with his sleeve and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Was it another nightmare?"

Chizuru nodded.

"With the same people?"

Chizuru nodded again.

Hijikata sighed deeply. "I assume you don't want to sleep anymore. How about I make some tea for you?"

"You don't have to …" Chizuru said while looking up at him.

"Chizuru, you always make tea for me to calm me down or to give me a break between all the paperwork. So now it's my turn." He stood up and offered her his hand. Chizuru took his hand, but she didn't let go. They walked to the kitchen where Hijikata prepared tea for both of them. As he was done they sat down on the stairs from the porch. Chizuru moved closer to him until their arms touched each other.

"Can you tell me what exactly happened in your dream?"

Chizuru stared into her tea. "They killed me," she whispered.

Hijikata didn't say anything. He just put his arm around her and gave her a soft kiss on her head. Chizuru blushed deeply, but Hijikata couldn't see it because of her hair that was falling forward.

"Shall we stay here the rest of the night?" Hijikata asked after a while.

"Yes."

"Don't fall asleep, okay?" Hijikata said with a playful tone in his voice.

Chizuru giggled a little. "Don't worry, I won't be sleeping for the next days."

Hijikata laughed at her answer. "That applies to me as well then."

It was already morning as they heard heavy footsteps coming their way. They both looked to their right to see Kondou. Kondou stood still as soon as he saw them. "Toshi and Chizuru?" he asked as if he couldn't believe they were there.

"Yes, Kondou-san, it's us," Hijikata said.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We couldn't sleep."

"How long have you been here?" Kondou walked towards them and sat down next to Hijikata.

"A few hours, I think."

"So long?! Why?"

"Can I tell him, Chizuru?" Chizuru looked unsure at Hijikata.

"Or do you want to tell him?"

"No, you can tell him," she whispered.

Hijikata looked back at Kondou. " While I was taking a walk I saw Chizuru and she told me that she had a nightmare. She asked if she could sleep with me, but after a few hours she had again a nightmare. And I decided to drink some tea and we stayed here."

"You were taking a walk in the middle of the night?"

"Yes, I couldn't sleep, so I thought that maybe that would help me."

"Sometimes it helps indeed. And what were your nightmare about, Chizuru?"

"… About my father and my brother."

"They tried to get her away from here in her first nightmare and in the second one they killed her," Hijikata explained.

Kondou looked worriedly ahead. "Is she scared?"

Hijikata nodded.

"I don't think there is anything we can do for her."

"Except for not letting her alone," Hijikata said.

"Yes, except for that." After a few minutes of silence, Kondou stood up.

"Over an hour is it dinner time, you should dress up before then," he said and left. When he was out of sight Hijikata took the two cups and stood up. Chizuru turned around to see him walking into the kitchen and returning a few seconds later. She also stood up and they walked back to HIjikata's room. Chizuru was holding his hand again, even though she was embarrassed to do so. She hoped that Hijikata didn't mind. As she glanced up to him she saw a light pink blush on his face. He wasn't used to this as well.

Once they were in his room, Hijikata gathered his clothes and went behind the folding screen. Chizuru stood next to the door, waiting for him to finish. She was talking to herself in her head, but suddenly her thoughts stopped. She heard something. "H-Hijikata-san?"

"Yes?"

"… I hear something …"

Hijikata stopped in his movements and listened if he also heard something. He stepped away from the screen, with only a hakama on.

Because of that and the sound that was coming closer, Chizuru froze.

"Someone's coming, you need to hide Chizuru," he said and walked over to her. He saw that she didn't move, so he put a hand on her back and pushed her forwards. "Hide behind the screen."

Chizuru did what he said without thinking. The moment she stepped behind the screen, the door opened and Okita came in.

"Did you forgot how to knock, Souji?" Hijikata said irritated, because Okita always came in without knocking.

"Why would I do that? We're both men, Hijikata-san, so you shouldn't be shy about standing half naked in front of me."

"Shut up! I'm not shy about something like this."

"Even if it was Chizuru-chan standing here instead of me?"

A light blush appeared on his cheeks as he thought about what happened just a few seconds ago.

"Ooh~ Hijikata-san is blushing~," Okita said teasingly.

"Souji, enough." Hijikata took a deep breath to calm down. "Why did you come here?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," he laughed. "The meeting is moved to tomorrow. I don't know why though."

"Okay." Hijikata knew why Kondou had done that, but he wasn't going to tell Okita.

"Then I'll be leaving." But as he stepped out of the room he turned around again. "Have you seen Chizuru-chan? She's not in her room."

"I haven't seen her, maybe she's taking a walk."

"That's also possible," Okita said and walked away.

Hijikata closed the door. "Never knocking and always leaving the door open," he said to himself. "Are you okay, Chizuru?" He walked over to the screen and looked at her. "Chizuru …" Her eyes were wide open and watery.

"It's okay, it was just Souji." Hijikata stepped closer to her and reached out to her face. She didn't back away, so he laid his hand on her cheek. She looked up to him and the tears that she wanted to hold back fell down, over his hand. Hijikata took another step, letting just a few inches space between them. He bent forward and gave her a soft kiss on top of her head. "It's okay," he said again. To be honest he wanted to hold her, but he also didn't want her to feel anymore uneasy. So he stepped back. Chizuru dried her tears and stepped aside. Without saying anything Hijikata put on his other clothes and they left his room, going to Chizuru's room.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

They arrived at Chizuru's room and Hijikata waited, just as Chizuru did, next to the door as she changed her clothes. As she was done, she picked up a brush from the table and walked towards the mirror. She put her hair to one side and saw Hijikata standing behind her. He took the brush out of her hand.

"Have you done it before?" Chizuru asked.

"By myself, yeah."

"No, I mean by a girl," Chizuru giggled.

"Ooh, no, you're the first."

"The tie is there on the table," Chizuru said and pointed behind her.

"I already have something." Hijikata put a white ribbon in her hair and brushed with his hands through her ponytail.

"Where did you get that?" Chizuru turned left and right to take a good look at the ribbon.

"Just somewhere in town."

"I really like it." Chizuru smiled at Hijikata in the mirror. "Thank you very much."

"Hijikata returned her smile. "Let's go."

They walked away, heading for the eating room. Chizuru was holding his hand again, still feeling embarrassed. But she had to hold his hand, otherwise she was afraid he would just walk away and leave her alone. Her heart told her that he would never leave her but her mind told her something else. Her thoughts were so frightening that she couldn't think straight anymore.

"Chizuru?"

Chizuru looked up and realized they had already stopped walking.

"We're here." Hijikata opened the door and let go of her hand. He let her go in first and closed the door after he got in.

"Chizuru-chan, where were you?" Harada asked.

"We were really worried," Heisuke said.

"Something happened, so she was with me," Hijikata explained and picked up Chizuru's tray with food.

"That's weird, you said you didn't know where she was when I went to your room."

Hijikata didn't react to what Okita said and put down the tray between his and Kondou's.

"Don't tell me she was in your room."

Hijikata stood with his back towards the men, but he could tell that they were all staring at him. He hoped that Okita wouldn't say what he was doing while he gave him a visit.

"While you were changing clothes."

There was a moment silence before the hell broke loose.

"WHAT were you doing!?" Nagakura said while he stood up.

"Why did she need to be with you?" Harada asked jealously.

"Does that mean that she saw you while you were changing?"

"Maybe he forced her, Heisuke," Okita said with a large grin on his face.

"ENOUGH! All of you, stop it!" Kondou yelled. Everyone was silent, but there was still a heavy tension. "Chizuru, come and sit down."

Chizuru walked over to Kondou and Hijikata without making eye contact with any of the men. She knew that they were worried about her, but she didn't have the courage to tell them why she was in Hijikata's room. She sat down and folded her hand in her lap.

"Are you scared, Chizuru?" Kondou asked.

Chizuru nodded slightly.

"Did something happen?" Kondou looked at Hijikata, who also sat down.

"Well, she was afraid when Souji came into my room, but after that nothing happened."

"Hmm, maybe she is scared all the time."

Hijikata nodded. "It is possible that her mind tells her that someone is after her."

"Eh, Kondou-san, Hijikata-san," Harada said as he raised his hand. "what are you talking about?"

Kondou and Hijikata looked at each other before they looked at the girl in their middle.

"I assume you don't want to hide this from them?" Hijikata asked.

Chizuru nodded. "Hijikata-san may tell them," she whispered.

Hijikata took a deep breath before he told everyone what had happened in the night. Expect for the parts where he kissed and hugged her and where they held hands. While he was telling the story he could tell that all the men were really worried about Chizuru. They didn't interrupt him with questions and they smiled at the girl as she made eye contact with them. Hijikata finished with explaining that Chizuru´s mind is playing games with her.

"Do you mean that she doesn't have control over what she is thinking?" Heisuke asked.

"I think so."

"How can we help her?" Harada asked, looking at Kondou.

"I've never experienced something like this before so … I don't really know. But one thing we can do is not leaving her alone.

Everyone agreed to that.

"And based on ow this day goes we can decide what we have to do," Kondou added.

They all were a few seconds silent. But then the door opened. Chizuru didn't even think about waiting to see who opened the door. She stood up and ran to the door as fast as she could. Before she went through the doorway someone pulled her back. He turned her around and because of his long black hair Chizuru knew it was Hijikata. He moved behind her and hold one hand on her shoulder. The other one was softly placed under her chin, to make her look at the person who came in.

"It's just Sannan-san, Chizuru," Hijikata said. Chizuru's golden eyes turned back to their original brown color.

"Am I that scary, Yukimura-kun?" Sannan sat down.

" No Sannan-kun, you're mistaken," Kondou said. "She had a nightmare about her father and brother killing her, so each time something unexpected happens she is scared.

"Ah, that explains why she wanted to run away.

"Is it really that bad, Chizuru?" Heisuke asked. "Your eyes even turned gold."

C hizuru didn't answer, instead she turned to Hijikata and buried her head in his clothes.

"It really is that bad," Hijikata answered in Chizuru's place. Hijikata and Chizuru walked back to their places and sat down. Even though there were a lot of questions everyone began to eat. They didn't talk about it anymore. As they ate and talked about the usual stuff, Kondou noticed that the door was left open for a little bit. He asked Hijikata to close the door. Hijikata stood up and walked to the door, but he didn't close it.

"What's wrong, Toshi?"

"I saw something moving." He looked over his shoulder to Kondou. "I'm going to check." He walked away and a few seconds later they heard someone screaming. Saito stood up quickly and ran towards the scream. Chizuru also wanted to stand up, but Kondou held her back. He covered her eyes with one hand. "There is nothing to be afraid of, Toshi knows how to handle this," he assured her. They saw some of the men of the next eating room running towards the fight, after they heard swords clashing.

"Shinpachi-kun, go take a look," Kondou said.

"Hai." Nagakura walked away. "Who are they?" he asked as he saw that the two spies were already captured.

"We don't know, but we will interrogate them later, Saito said.

"For now they will stay in one of the empty rooms under surveillance." Hijikata stood up from a kneeling position.

"Hijikata-san, your hands …"

Hijikata looked at Nagakura and then examined his hands. He knew that he got hurt, but didn't know that the wounds were really nasty. "Yeah, one of them attacked me from the front and I forgot my sword in my room and couldn't step away, so-"

"So you stopped the attack with your hands. Really Hijikata-san, Chizuru isn't gonna like that."

"You don't need to tell me," Hijikata hissed. He saw the concern on his friends face, but didn't care much about it. "Let's go, Saito and the others will take care of them."

The two men returned to the eating room and Hijikata stopped in front of Chizuru. Kondou's hand still covered her eyes. Hijikata sat down and Kondou removed his hand. Hijikata's heart broke into pieces when he saw her face. Her golden eyes filled with tears were locked with his. He brought his hand to her face but stopped before he touched her.

"… You're bleeding," she sobbed.

"Please, don't cry."

Chizuru tried to hold back her tears, but didn't succeed.

"Chizuru, it's not like I have a fatal wound." With the back of his hand, which was still hanging in the air, he touched her cheek. The blood on his hand made her tears red and left a red trace on her face. "I'm sorry."

"Chizuru, do you think you can treat his wounds?" Kondou asked.

Chizuru nodded slowly and together with Hijikata she stood up.

"Shall I come with you, Toshi?"

"yeah, in case someone attacks us again."

"Okay, let's go then."

The three left the room and walked away in silence. Hijikata felt that Chizuru gave a small tug on his sleeve. He looked to his side towards the girl. She was nervous. She avoided his eyes, but seems like she wanted to say something. Hijikata put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "It's okay, I know you're worried but I'll be okay," he whispered. Chizuru smiled through her tears, to show him she believed him.

Back in the eating room, Kondou, Hijikata and Chizuru continued their meals.

"Chizuru-chan," Nagakura said after a while," I know we promised to take turns doing the dishes, but I think it's better for you if you do it today."

"You just don't want to do it," Heisuke mumbled.

"No, I understand Shinpachi, it's to keep her mind away from the nightmares," Harada noticed.

Nagakura nodded. "And I can do it for you when it's your turn, so we'll be even."

"What do you think, Chizuru?" Hijikata asked.

"I'm okay with that."

15 minutes later Chizuru and Hijikata were in the kitchen, doing the dishes. Chizuru didn't want to be alone, so when everyone was gone she asked Hijikata to help her. He was already planning to do so, he had answered, which made her really happy. Now that they were together, she felt more nervous then she expected. She wished that he would say something to start a conversation.

But what she didn't know was that Hijikata was also nervous. He held a stern face and smiled sometimes as he saw that she looked at him. He really didn't know what to say. They had talked a lot this morning, so all topics had already been discussed.

They both decided to stay silent


	3. Chapter 3

C hapter 3

As Hijikata put the last bowl away, he glanced over at Chizuru. He had noticed that she had been looking at him the whole time. She was probably waiting for something to happen. He startled her by turning around and looking directly in her eyes. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

Chizuru was now confused. First, he turned around suddenly and made eye contact with her for the first time since they were in the kitchen. And secondly, he wasn't quite the person to ask something like that. Sure, a lot of unusual things had happened these past few hours, but now they were in a normal situation. It was a rare opportunity so she nodded happily.

As they exited the room, they heard Okita saying Hijikata's name. They turned around to face Okita.

"What is it, Souji?"

"Kondou-san wants you to be with the questioning of the two spies. And Chizuru also needs to go there."

Chizuru looked surprised at Okita. "Why me?"

"I don't know exactly why, but Sannan-san had a question for you."

"Oh okay."

"Shall we go then?"

Chizuru looked up at Hijikata and nodded.

They arrived at the room where Kondou and Sannan were waiting. Hijikata said to Chizuru to enter first. As Chizuru came in, she took a quick look at the two men. As they made eye contact, the eyes of the two spies widened and they bowed in their kneeling position, with their hands tied backwards. They began to say a lot of apologies and even begged her for forgiveness.

Chizuru just stood there, in the middle of the room, going through her whole life story. Trying to remember if she ever met those men. But nothing came to mind. She saw Hijikata coming up behind her. He laid his hands on her shoulder and led her past the men.

"Don't pay attention to them. We don't know why they are here."

As Hijikata and Chizuru sat down, Sannan spoke up.

"Yukimura-kun, I have a vague idea of why they apologized to you, but you need to show me something so I can conclude whether it's true or not." He reached behind him and showed the swords of the two spies to Chizuru. "Can you let us see your sword please?"

Chizuru stood up and unsheathed her sword. She hold he one next to the ones Sannan was holding. They were almost the same. The only differences were the pattern of the triangles in the handle and the length of the swords. In the swords of the spies were the triangles halved and they were longer then Chizuru's.

"How is that possible?" Kondou murmured.

"Can you explain us why your swords are matching with hers?" Hijikata asked.

The two men looked at each other. The youngest one with red hair decided to tell them their story. "I shall start with why we are here." He saw that the Shinsengumi members didn't object his idea, so he continued. "One of our men heard that Yukimura Chizuru lived with the Shinsengumi, and … our leader is interested in her, so we told him. He ordered us to investigate that. And here we are."

"… How does your leader know who Yukimura Chizuru is?" Hijikata asked.

The red haired young man looked again at the older one.

"It's the best to tell her," he said.

"Wait," Sannan said before the others could say something. "Is your leader someone from the Yukimura clan?"

The two spies nodded.

Chizuru's mind went blanc. She wasn't prepared for this. There were a lot of questions she wanted to ask, but the words didn't want to leave her mouth, afraid for the answers.

Hijikata saw how shocked she was. He took her hand in his which made her look at him. Her eyes said she wanted more information about this.

"Chizuru told us that her whole family died, except for her and her brother."

"There were two other members who had run away and Maru-sama was one of them," the older man said. "They came back after a while and learned that their family was murdered. He always hoped to meet someone with the last name Yukimura. We understand that this is very sudden, but Maru-sama really wants to meet you."

"It also wasn't our intention to hurt you." They both turned to Hijikata and bowed again. "We were surprised you find out that we were there, so we did it on an impulse."

"We understand." Kondou looked at Chizuru. "Are you able to forgive them?"

Chizuru nodded after a few seconds silence.

The two spies sighed relieved, glad that she forgave them.

"What are we going to do with them?" Sannan asked.

"I think that's for Chizuru to decide."

Everyone stared at Chizuru. The girl in question stayed silent. She really didn't know what to say, or what to think of this.

"Just say what's on your mind, Chizuru," Hijikata said.

"… You may go back and tell your leader that I am here."

The two men showed their gratitude by bowing once more.

"We won't hold you here any longer," Kondou stood up, "Even though it didn't went smoothly in the beginning we are glad to have met you."

"The same applies to us."

During dinner Chizuru sits again between Kondou and Hijikata. Kondou had told everything to the others and they weren't allowed to ask any questions.

Near the end of the meal, Kondou cleared his throat. "Because Chizuru still can't be alone, I ask you if you are alright with her sleeping in Toshi's room?"

A lot of eyes went over to Hijikata. Some jealous, some caring. After some mumbling, everyone agreed though.

Later that night, after Hijikata and Chizuru went to sleep, Hijikata felt something bumping into his back. He turned around and looked at the girl next to him. She had a troubled look on her face. He felt sorry for her for having again a nightmare. He sat up and touched her houlder lightly. She flinched and turned away from him. Hijikata tried again and whispered her name several times. Slowly her eyes opened and she came back to the real world. Hijikata turned her around. Some hair strands stuck to her face, but she didn't brush them away.

The way she looked at him made Hijikata feel weak.

Again.

He laid down and put his arm around her. Chizuru snuggled closer. She met his eyes and smiled.

"Thank you, Hijikata-san."

After a few minutes she fell asleep. It took Hijikata a little bit more than a few minutes to fall asleep. He kept thinking about how to help her. But nothing came to his mind. This was the first time he cared so much about a girl, or better, a young woman. His mind was completely blanc when it came to dealing with young women. It wasn't the same as how he cared for Souji and the others. It was much deeper.

Well, he knew some things that could help her, but that was way too much given their relationship now. And he wanted to help her, not to make her feel responsible toward him for his actions.

Despite all that thinking he still didn't know how to handle these kind of situations.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Large, silent steps were making its way to the vice-commanders room. The person stood still in front of the room. He tilted his head to side of the door and tried to make out any noises and movements. But nothing but the sound of the wind and birds was being heard. Without knocking he opened the door. Kondou looked inside. His mouth made a small smile and his eyes softened at the sight in front of him. They laid together on one futon, Chizuru in the arms of Hijikata. An emotion he had longed for to feel rose within his chest. A fatherly feeling. He'd always thought of Hijikata as his own son and seeing him experiencing love only made that feeling stronger. Slowly he closed the door and turned around. He left as silent as he had come.

Hijikata opened his eyes as he heard someone opening the door.

"Did I wake you?" Kondou entered the room and settled down next to the entrance.

"No Kondou-san, I just had my eyes closed."

"Is Chizuru still sleeping?"

"Yes." Hijikata sat up after removing his arm from under her head. "She'd had a nightmare again."

"The same as yesterday?"

"I think so."

"You don't know for sure?"

"We didn't really talk."

"What did you do then?" Kondou asked with a curious sparkle in his eyes, just like a little child whose about to know a special secret.

"Uh…" Hijikata tried not to look away from Kondou, to not show him his weak side. Nevertheless his eyes wandered down Kondou's body and fell upon his hands, neatly folded in his lap.

"You don't want to tell me, Toshi?"

"No, it's not like I don't want to tell you, it's just…" His embarrassment was too much to finish the sentence.

Kondou started to laugh. With each second getting more and more that feeling of father and son. "It's okay, Toshi, you don't need to tell me everything."

Hijikata smiled sheepishly at Kondou. He didn't know why, but every time they had a talk, Chizuru would come up as a subject and he would feel uncomfortable.

"But I didn't come here to ask you about your love life. I wanted to say that we already had breakfast. Shall I prepare something for you two?"

"Yeah, that would be nice."

A little while later, Hijikata and Chizuru sat in the eating room, enjoying the breakfast Kondou had made for them. Kondou and Hijikata were talking about military stuff. Their conservation came to a halt when someone knocked on the door. Inoue came in and bowed before he closed the door. "A letter was just delivered, addressed to Yukimura Chizuru."

Chizuru put the empty bowl down and stood up. As the letter was handed over to her she saw her name standing on the envelop in a graceful handwriting.

"Who is it from?" Hijikata asked.

"I don't know. There's nothing else written on the envelop besides my name." She took a deep breath to collect her thoughts. She was thinking about all kinds of things, but none of them seemed to be really possible.

"Chizuru, open the letter," Hijikata said, surprising her by breaking the silence.

"Ah, right." Chizuru opened the envelop and unfolded the letter. Her lips slightly moved as she read the letter in herself.

' _Dear Yukimura Chizuru,_

 _I heard from my men that you wanted to meet me, Yukimura Maru. I will gladly accept you offer._

 _How about we meet today at 10 o'clock? I do not live in the village, so I think it would be the best for both of us if we meet in the middle. I will be waiting for you at the green bridge which leads to the south._

 _Yukimaru Maru.'_

"And, who is it?" Hijikata asked again.

"Yukimura Maru wants to meet me at 10 o'clock, today." It felt weird to say her own last name with another surname.

"Today?" Kondou looked up from his tea. "That's pretty soon, isn't it?"

Chizuru nodded slowly. "But… I really want to go."

Kondou and Hijikata looed at each other for a moment. "If you're okay with Toshi and me accompanying you, you have our permission to go."

"Really?"

"Really."

Chizuru looked at Hijikata. He nodded in agreement, while giving her a lovely smile.

Chizuru, Hijikata and Kondou arrived at the bridge a few minute before 10 o'clock. A young man was sitting in front of the bridge at their side. He had a wary look in his eyes, and with each sound he heard, he tilted his head int that way. His hakama was dirty with mud and dried blood, but his hair was neatly done into a ponytail. He stood up as he saw them coming closer.

Kondou bowed to the man before he took the lead in the conversation. "I am the captain of the Shinsengumi, Kondou Isami, and he," he made a hand gesture to Hijikata behind him," is the vice-commander, Hijikata Toshizou. We will be accompanying Yukimura Chizuru."

The young man also bowed his head, but lower as a sign of respect. "My name is Ryo, second leader in the clan and Mura's best friend. Maru couldn't be here due to some other business he had to attend to. I will walk you to our place." Without giving them a chance to say anything he turned around and walked away.

After a while Kondou fastened his pace to walk next to Ryo.

"Ryo-san, if I may ask, why do you not live in the village?"

"Maru doesn't really like humans, although there are some in our clan."

"Why does he let them live near him then?"

"Maru will answer your questions."

Kondou slowed his pace and decided not to say anything anymore.

The four passed some field and a large shed before they arrived at the small village. The first building to catch their attention was a large house surrounded by smaller houses. In front of the house were a well, tables and benches. On the walls of the small houses were drawings glued. Chizuru stood still by one of the drawings. Someone had drawn a happy family, consisting of two men, a young woman and a child. They were all smiling their most beautiful smiles.

"Chizuru?"

She looked up from the drawing. Kondou and Ryo were already in front of the large building.

"Are you okay?"

Chizuru nodded and followed Hijikata.

The shoji doors were all shoved open, letting in a lot of sunlight. Children were sitting in a circle in the middle of the room. One young man was sitting in between them, a little boy in his lap. He was telling them a story. A story which Chizuru recognized. The story about how her family members died, about how there almost came an end to their clan name. It seemed Hijikata knew what the other man was talking about, slightly touched the inside of her palm with his fingertips. At times like this she whished that they had a real romantic relationship. A relationship where she could touch him just as she wanted, also in public. Chizuru hit herself mentally for thinking such thoughts at this time. And its not like she would have the courage to do so. As she looked at the man again, she realized he had stopped talking and was now looking at her. Just like all the children. A sudden nervousness came upon her and she didn't know what to say or do.

"Maru," Ryo entered the room and walked over to the man called Maru, "How is Kaito's knee?"

"Akari-san treated it and put a bandage around it."

Ryo kneeled down and ruffled the little boy's hair. "How are you feeling, Kaito-chan?"

"Okay," he said while looking at the three unknown persons.

"Well then," Maru said as he stood up, lifting Kaito with into his arms. "I will introduce myself first." He bowed his head a little. "My name is Yukimura Maru, and this is my family."

The children bowed at the same time.

Chizuru was taken aback, not yet comprehending what was happening. "Kondou-san," she whispered, hoping he would understand the hint to start first.

Kondou cleared his throat and stepped forward. "It is our pleasure to finally meet a member of Chizuru's family. My name is Kondou Isami, captain of the Shinsengumi."

Hijikata also stepped forward, feeling Chizuru's hand clutched to the fabric of his hakama. He introduced himself and Chizuru, with explanation why she couldn't do it herself.

"I understand, it is quite a shock to hear something like this."

"But that does not mean it's not good news. Secretly we have been waiting for this day," Kondou said.

"I see that you care very much about her."

"She is part of the Shinsengumi, the men will do anything to make her happy."

"She found a new family, just like I did. I'm glad that she is being loved, even though it's by humans."

A moment silence. Giving them a few seconds to think about his last words.

"I will take you to a private place, please follow me."

Kondou, Hijikata and Chizuru followed his to the back of the room.

"Oh wait." Maru stopped abruptly and looked at Kaito. He whispered something in his ear and put the boy down on the ground. With big eyes glaring at Kondou and Hijikata he ran past them into Ryo's arms. "Let's continue." He opened a door to the hallway. "This house is a place for all of us. There is a kitchen, bathroom and we eat here together. In the back of the building is a door to another room, which is my room. We can talk there in private."

The building in the back consisted of two rooms, Maru's own room and a study room. The room of Maru wasn't anything special. There was a futon, a closet, a screen and a low table. A lot of drawings were glued on the walls, just like outside on the buildings. The study room had a larger table with cushions around it. They took place on the cushions and waited for Maru to tell his story.


End file.
